Milwaukee Brewers v Chicago Cubs feels like a Ten-Pointer -

With a win against the Chicago White Sox on Sunday, 27 July, the Chicago Cubs were tied for first in the NL Central. They had enjoyed 111 days atop the division, with their lead maxing out at 6.5 games at one stage.

The following day, the Cubs entered the important series against the Milwaukee Brewers, their main division rivals, in confident form.

However, they lost two of three in Milwaukee and slipped to one game back behind the team looking for their fourth straight NL Central pennant.

The fate of the two teams over the following three weeks could not have been much different.

	BREWERS	CUBS
Record	17-2 (MLB best)	9-10
Runs scores	144 (MLB best)	62 (MLB worst)

Milwaukee scoring 78 more runs than their nearest division rivals over the last 19 games doesn’t seem possible, but I checked the math(s), and it’s correct.

This series feels crucial for the Cubs’ division aspirations. They are eight games back, but by the end of this extended five-game series against the Brewers in Wrigley, the NL Central championship could be all over or set for an exciting climax.

Searching for positives during this disappointing stretch for the Cubs isn’t easy, but one can point to the effectiveness of their pitching staff. With a meagre 3.38 ERA, only the Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitchers have fared better since the Cubs last led the NL Central.

Two wins in their last two outings, albeit both against the Pittsburgh Pirates, sees the Cubs start this pivotal five-game series with a little more confidence than before the weekend.

Superstar Kyle Tucker showed signs of waking from his summer hibernation with a two-run game on Saturday, although he is still only hitting .179 since his last home run in mid-July.

If the established veterans can’t pull Chicago out of this quagmire, then they need big-series performances from the younger corps of Michael Busch, Matt Shaw, and Pete Crow-Armstrong.

The pressure is all on the Cubs. The Brewers know that the defeat to the Reds on Sunday, which halted their winning streak at 14-0, is not the start of a downward spiral, but a couple of quick defeats inflicted by the Cubs will dent Milwaukee’s confidence. And then, anything could happen.

Catch Game One of Monday’s double-header as the free Game of the Day on MLB.tv at 6:20pm UK time.

Featured image photo by John Fisher

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